How Landal made a worry-free transition to a new HR and Payroll system.
"They don't just look at the technology, but also from the user's perspective."
Landal GreenParks chose the HR and payroll software of AFAS. The conversion and monitoring of the setup were handled by Salure. “After a while, I felt I could confidently leave that work to Salure’s consultant.”
Sjoerd Minnema is project and change manager at consulting firm Move Beyond. He started as an external consultant at Landal two years ago. At the time, the organization had just changed ownership and, as a result, a new automation system was needed. Minnema was tasked with implementing a new system for HR and payroll. He began doing so in October 2019, when the choice for AFAS had already been made by Landal.
The choice of AFAS
Although Minnema himself was not involved in that selection, he finds the choice of AFAS logical. “AFAS’ software enjoys an excellent reputation. Robust and user-friendly. Moreover, I endorse Landal’s vision that HR processes should preferably be organized decentrally at the level of managers as much as possible.”
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Consistent datasets
During the implementation process, on AFAS’ recommendation, Salure soon came into the picture as an implementation partner. “Initially for the data conversion to the new system,” Minnema recalls. “Salure’s consultants picked that up well right away, and Landal has benefited well from that in the form of consistent data sets. They not only picked this up well, but also helped clean up the data sets. If they came across something, they also showed the ability to solve it.”
As an example, Minnema cites an employee’s salary that was higher than the job grade allowed. “Salure not only brought that to light, but then suggested, for example, that the excess salary be paid out for the surplus in the form of a personal allowance. They don’t just look at the technology, they can also think from the user’s perspective.”
A successful start
In addition to the data conversion, Salure spent the first few months helping Landal get used to AFAS. The payroll administrators had indeed followed AFAS training, but with more than 3,200 employees and completely new software, extra support is nice. Minnema: “Salure helped tremendously with paying salaries with AFAS. The team was always there for us to make sure everything went smoothly with payroll processing. Even if we needed last-minute help, time was found to be able to help us.”
Salure’s involvement came in handy because at the beginning of the implementation, Landal did not have a team leader in payroll due to circumstances. “Salure’s consultant jumped into that gap and thus contributed positively to the continuity of the operation. In this way, she also actively included employees in the dynamics of processes, procedures and control statements. That commitment has proved very valuable to Landal.” The result is a payroll system that ensures wages, travel expenses and expense claims are paid as they should be.
"We find each other in the attitude of going the extra mile when necessary, not settling for half work and spending our time meaningfully. For example, if a Salure consultant puts in an extra hour somewhere, you can be sure that that effort will pay for itself later."
Sjoerd Minnema
project and change manager at Landal GreenParks
Excellent cooperation
As a result, he has enjoyed working with Salure’s consultants. “We find each other in the attitude of going the extra mile when necessary, not settling for half work and spending our time meaningfully. For example, if a Salure consultant puts in an extra hour somewhere, you can be sure that this effort will pay for itself later.”
International challenge
“Based on this experience, Landal will also start working with Salure abroad. In fact, in the fall of 2020, Landal will start using the SalureConnect solution in Germany. The organization will thereby take into use a tool that adds country-specific requirements to the AFAS software and communicates with the German payroll processing system. The intention is that the solution will subsequently be rolled out in other countries as well. Minnema is looking forward to it. “Because then I will become more intimately acquainted with Salure’s HR expertise. And based on my current experiences, I am certainly confident about that.”
About Landal GreenParks:
Landal GreenParks is a leading provider in the field of management, management and rental of vacation parks. The organization operates over ninety parks in the Netherlands and eight other countries with a total of nearly 15,000 vacation accommodations and 1,300 camping sites. Every year, more than 2.8 million guests choose to stay at Landal GreenParks. Together they spend 14.5 million overnight stays there. Around 3,000 employees work at the parks and various office locations, including the head office in The Hague. Due to an active sustainability policy, all parks have been awarded a Green Key certificate. Landal GreenParks’ gross annual sales amounted to €470 million in 2018.
